QB - Tyler Wilson, Raiders. In a lot of ways, this just came down to which player I thought most likely to start over the course of the next season. Both EJ Manuel and Geno Smith are very raw and less developed than Wilson, and Wilson is probably more accurate than both of them as well. Flynn has had some injury issues, and if he is ineffective or injured early in the year Wilson could get a chance to play, and I think there's the possibility that he could play well. It's hard to imagine any of this year's quarterbacks making a real splash.

RB - Montee Ball, Broncos. Running back might've been the hardest position for me to pick for this, since it's not about who my favorite player is, but rather who is going to have the best year. I like both Johnathan Franklin and Eddie Lacy in Green Bay, but that's an offense which revolves around the quarterback and receivers and I think they'll be used as a 1-2 punch, wich Lacy taking care of the goal line, short-yardage and clock-burning type work, and Franklin coming in regularly throughout the game. Giovanni Bernard is going to be used a lot in Cincy, and I'm imagining it might be almost in a Darren Sproles sort of role. But he's not a tough runner, and BJGE is still going to get most of the carries. I can pretty easily see Bernard having more receiving yards than rushing yards at the end of the season, but I don't really see him scoring many touchdowns. In Pittsburgh you have Le'Veon Bell, but while he'll have the backfield to himself, that line is suspect, Bell's vision is not the greatest and he's not explosive. I envision him having a low YPC but maybe double-digit touchdowns. Then there's Montee Ball - as a second-round pick, the Broncos clearly brought him in with the intention to use him. They also released Willis McGahee, another clear indication. Ball is good in pass-pro, which is especially important to the Broncos, and I think he's going to be on the field a lot. He can handle short yardage work as well. Peyton Manning also loves to throw passes to his running backs. I don't believe in any of the other Broncos' running backs, despite Ronnie Hillman being a relatively high pick last year, so Ball is the logical choice for this spot. Not my favorite back in the class, but I did like him (more than quite a few people, at least it seemed) before the draft and he's in the perfect situation. I think he could end up putting up some big numbers, even if he's not real flashy about it. I think Peyton will like him a lot more than Donald Brown.

WR - Markus Wheaton,Steelers. This is kind of hyperbolic, but I almost think of Markus Wheaton as Mike Wallace if Mike Wallace was a great route-runner. If I really wanted to stir things up I might throw out a Marvin Harrison comparison. Wheaton is laser sharp on his cuts, is super quick and sudden, can sink his hips and get defensive backs to bite on routes, has good hands and breakaway speed. Watch him become a favorite of Ben Roethlisberger's early on. They need someone to step up, and Wheaton is quietly a very polished, very fast wide receiver. I think the main thing that hurts him is his small frame.

WR - Tavon Austin, Rams. I love Tavon Austin, and I'm both worried and excited to see him play the Seahawks two times a year. He is SO. FAST. His size is irrelevant, because at any moment he can make a move, squirt past a defender's angle and have 20 yards in front of him, which he gobbles up quickly. I'm not predicting he'll break a thousand yards receiving as a rookie, but every time the ball goes to him the stadium is going to hold its breath. He'll have to prove he can get consistently open against NFL defenders, but I expect him to line up in a bunch of different places - the slot, out wide and in the backfield - and the Rams are going to look to him for big plays every game, and he'll deliver. He's not a "physical" player, but he's fearless. Yes, he bounces things to the outside, but he's also so confident in his speed that he will accelerate through small creases to get there, and that's what you want from a player like him.

WR - DeAndre Hopkins, Texans. This one is simple: Texans need a player opposite Andre Johnson to develop and take advantage of Johnson being double-covered, and that's exactly what they got. Hopkin's is Mini-Andre. I think they're a very good, complimentary pair and I think Hopkins is going to step up early and never look back. Having a legitimate receiver on the other side is going to open up the Texan's offense.

TE - Vance McDonald, 49ers. My favorite tight end this year goes to perhaps the most tight end-oriented offense in the NFL, which then loses its top receiver, prompting that team to use its incumbent All-Pro tight end out wide. The 49ers already used a lot of 2-TE sets, so by all indications Vance McDonald should see the field a lot. He's a terrific receiver as well as a good blocker. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him catch 50 passes, and playing on a team with a scrambler like Kaapernick means that having a player who runs intermediate routes and can box out defenders is going to get looked to often as a safety valve.

I don't need to do a writeup for these linemen. This was a terrific draft for offensive linemen, all of these guys are first-round picks, and I expect all of them to provide a big boost for their respective teams' offenses.

OT - Eric Fisher, Chiefs.

OG - Jonathan Cooper, Cardinals.

C - Travis Frederick, Cowboys.

OG - Chance Warmack, Titans.

OT - Luke Joeckel, Jaguars.

DEFENSE

DE (rush) - Ziggy Anseh, Lions. It seems like all the top pass-rushers in this draft are the raw, high-upside variety, so I'm going with the guy who I think has the highest upside and best supporting cast. With Suh, Fairley and Idonije composing the other 3/4ths of Detroit's defensive line, all Ansah needs to do is create havoc on the edge. He'll rarely be double-teamed, so his lack of technique is less of a disadvantage than it might otherwise be. I have a hard time seeing a dominant pass-ruser come out of this class in the first year, but I can see Ansah posting 6 sacks or so, and in a best case scenario I think it's certainly possible he could post double-digits.

DT (under) - Kawann Short, Panthers. I just love Kawann Short, and having a guy like Dawn Edwards ahead of him means he's going to be in a situational role early, and having a guy like Dwawn Edwards in front of him means the coaching staff is going to want to get him on the field early. It's a perfect situation for him, because he's notorious for running hot and cold but when he's on, he's incredibly disruptive.

DT (nose) - Star Lotulelei, Panthers. With the addition of Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei, the Panther's defensive line just got nasty. Greg Hardy and Charles Johnson have to be giddy. Star is a player who should be a plug-and-play type, who probably isn't going to have his presence made obvious by stats. Luke Kuechly is going to love having him there in front of him, and Star's strength is exactly what Carolina needs in the middle of the line as it unleashes its ends off the edge; he'll attract double-teams in the middle which will leave Kawann Short 1-on-1 on a guard, and Short's quickness and variety of moves is going to be a real pain in the ass for offenses. If the Panther's D makes a big step up in 2013, make sure Star gets his due as the cog in the middle.

DE (3-4) - Datone Jones, Packers. Might not post big stats in his first year, but he could also remind people of JJ Watt. I expect him to be a real disruptive force who requires double-teams and makes offensive lines focus on him. I think a good way to measure his impact will be to watch Clay Matthews' stat sheet next year.

OLB (weakside) - Sio Moore, Raiders. There are other players I think are more talented, but this being an all-rookie team part of it is guessing who's going to be on the field a lot, and I think Oakland's going to want to see their young players early. Sio Moore is a guy I liked as a pass-rushing outside linebacker and he's also got coverage skills, so I won't be surprised to see him post 5+ sacks in his first year as he stakes a claim to a role in the Raider's future plans.

ILB - Manti Te'o, Chargers. This one's pretty simple. I think he's just going to be the guy in the middle for a long time. Not super dynamic, but barring injury he posts 100 tackles and will have some big stops.

OLB (strongside) - Jamie Collins, Patriots. I don't think he'll play exclusively on the strong side, but he's an incredible athlete (4.60 flat at the combine at 6'4" 250, also had a 41.5" vert and set the combine record for broad jump at 11' 7") and the Patriots are going to get him on the field in a lot of ways. He's going to blitz as well as cover backs and tight ends, and in addition to prividing depth and challenging Hightower for playing time, I see him being a "rotational" player who plays a ton of snaps at several defensive positions including with his hand on the ground.

CB - DJ Hayden, Raiders. As with Moore, I expect young Raiders to get a lot of playing time this year and with his injury behind him, there's no reason to think Hayden can't have a very good first year, although I also expect him to give up some big plays due to the low caliber of the rest of his unit.

FS - Jonathan Cyprien, Jaguars. Immediate starter on a mediocre defense, he's going to be looked to early as an impact player and I think he'll deliver. He's already got a bit of hype going, and from what I've seen there's a good chance he'll live up to it.

SS - Matt Elam, Ravens. This is one of my more unsure picks. There's things I like about Elam, and there are things I hate. He got way too many stupid penalties at Florida and tended to go for the big hit every time instead of making a safe tackle. He's a player whose situation played a large part into my placing him here. The Ravens have some other good players in their secondary who will be looked to for primary coverage responsibilities; if Jimmy Smith can take the next step, that's a good tandem with Lardarious Webb, and Michael Huff might've been drafted too high but isn't a bad player. If the Ravens can endow Elam with a professional's mindset and drill the mental aspects of the game into his head, I think he could pretty quickly develop into a better version of the hammer-headed Bernard Pollard, who he's replacing.

CB - Desmond Trufant, Falcons. He's smooth, technically-sound and physically capable. I remember him in the Senior Bowl going up against Markus Wheaton and those two just battled all day. I like that he's a gamer and likes to challenge the receivers he's covering. He's a physical, aggressive corner with deep speed as well as excellent quickness, so I think he'll come in and contribute right away.

RET - Cordarrelle Patterson, Vikings. I don't really expect Patterson to become a go-to receiver right away, but I think the Vikings will use him pretty much the same way Tennessee did last year- he's going to get some carries, he's going to take sweeps, he'll get deep passes, screens and hitches, and he'll return kicks. I think he's going to be an "OW" for them, same as Denard Robinson for the Jaguars, and he's got a chance to make a big impact in his rookie year, but with them using him here, there, and everywhere the best place for him on this list is at returner.

Just Missed the Cut:

WR - Keenan Allen, Chargers. Philip Rivers is dying for a go-to wide receiver, and I think Keenan Allen can be that guy. He's a polished, physical receiver and I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see him lead San Diego in receiving this year.

CB - Johnthan Banks, Buccaneers. With Eric Wright traded away, Tampa is expecting Banks to start right away. He's got a vote of confidence from his team, and I thought he was a bit underrated in this draft. He doesn't really have some of the measurables you might like, but he's very smooth and quick, and with Revis there to take the opponent's best receiver as well as to provide mentorship, I think Banks should turn in a very solid rookie campaign.

It's not a slight, I just think Tyler Wilson is more ready to step into the starting role, so I give him a first-year edge. I also have been, if there's such a thing, sort of a "Kevin Kolb supporter" and don't think he's quite as bad as he's made out to be; I don't think the Bills really lost anything going to him from Fitzpatrick, which is to say Manuel is behind a lower-tier but legitimate starting QB. i.e., Kolb's in the top 32 in the league, as far as who can step in and play tomorrow. As far as the future goes, though, Manuel's certainly got better tools than Wilson; we just have to see how they both develop. There are definitely better receivers in Buffalo than there are in Oakland, and that always helps. Manuel's accuracy does worry me, though.

It's not way too early at all. If you use training camp for predictions like this it's practically cheating. Their pro career has begun at that point and with the constant reporting nowadays every practice is pretty much public information.

I agree with a lot of this and I think this will be an AWESOME rookie CB class. Milliner, Banks, Hayden, and Trufant are all in a position to succeed early. And all were good prospects. I can't think of any other starting rookie CBs off the top of my head but I'm sure a ton will get playing time.